Another Nip Weekend On the books

[Species8472]

Our cottage has a 1.5 km+ driveway and it is just not worth paying someone to keep it open in the winter so we pay the neighbor $150 a year and he keeps the first 20 or 30 yards blown out so i can back the truck and trailer in and we than snowmobile in. Works great but arriving Friday night around 8 pm it was pretty nibbly out:



There had been a whack of snow since i last rode the driveway 3 weeks earlier and it was all super light fluff. Result being in order to see i had to stand while riding in order to see over the plume i was kicking up in front of the machine. Compound that with my stubborn refusal to wear a visor (I just don't like it and feel like it impairs my ability to see particularly my peripheral vision) and the 20 minutes it took to load up and get going plus than ride in and you look like this when you arrive:



Got up at 6 am Saturday morning to check the temp and this is what it was reading at my kitchen window:



Was up with my wife and son this weekend and while not softies by any stretch i knew that temp was gonna go over like a lead balloon so went back to bed and waited until noon to head out. By that time it was -16 but breezy so the wife said she was staying in the cottage and would happily tend the wood stove for the day. My son though was up for it. We put on at Wade's Landing at bottom of Fish Bay and rode 16 km along the south shore towards Cross Point. Visibility was crap and it was windy and there was deep snow for the last 8 km once we left the outfitter's road. Snow depth varied from rare patches of bare ice once in a while to being 12 to 18 inches most of the time. This was mixed up with many small deeper drifts and occasional 2 and 3 foot drifts and multiple sections of slush. Due to the slush i kept my speed at a minimum 60 km/hour - made for a bumpy rough ride with multiple occasions where the 750 lb Skandic with 400 lbs of rider plus a 200+ lb toboggan were all airborne. Got set up and as expected it was pretty slow with the cold but avoided the skunk with 3 walleye - no keepers.

Sunday the temps were much more to my wife's liking and we all headed out right after breakfast. Snowing off and on all day but very little wind and the slush conditions seemed to have improved a little. Only headed 12 km this time as was a little paranoid about my wife's ability to ride out in the dark at speeds sufficient to manage the slush. She did fine though - told her to keep up with me and not to stop which she did quite handily. All set:



Fishing was much better and managed a whack like this:



and this:



No keepers on the walleye side but did manage a feed of Jumbos. Next trip scheduled for the 17 to 20th. Until than.

[TroutSlayer]

Well done! It's great to a see report with photos here!

[huntnmachine]

Glad you got into some perch Joe. Too bad we couldn't hook up for a visit as we planned. Fishing was slow for us a Robs Five Star so as I mentioned we headed in early do to the lack of fish and a bunch of hungover 30 year old's. LOL

Saturday morning my Chevy diesel Diff fluid froze so it went into limp mode on our way to Rob's
Left it in a fire station parking lot and was picked up by our other gang and fished the morning.
Went back to my truck around noon, the fluid by then had thawed and all was good for the trip back to the cabin and drive home Sunday.

Sure hope our trip together in March pans out.

[bellerivercrossbowhunter]

Must be nice to have ice! lol

[Frenchie]

Love your reports and your set up as well... Thank you for posting

[Species8472]

Glad you got into some perch Joe. Too bad we couldn't hook up for a visit as we planned. Fishing was slow for us a Robs Five Star so as I mentioned we headed in early do to the lack of fish and a bunch of hungover 30 year old's. LOL

Saturday morning my Chevy diesel Diff fluid froze so it went into limp mode on our way to Rob's
Left it in a fire station parking lot and was picked up by our other gang and fished the morning.
Went back to my truck around noon, the fluid by then had thawed and all was good for the trip back to the cabin and drive home Sunday.

Sure hope our trip together in March pans out.

I think you meant the DEF fluid? I have a 2016 Chevy Diesel - have yet to experience that one. Has gone into limp mode once on me - was also an emissions issue - thermostat for the regen failed.

Barring bad ice i will be good for March closer. Fingers crossed. Was a slush fest on the last 8km this past weekend once i got past the traveled part of the lake. Snow was deep and many pockets/sections with 6 or 8 inches of slush below the 12 to 18 inches of snow. My machines are both pretty good in those conditions as long as the speed is up and you don't stop. Long tracks and studs on both plus super wide on the Skandy. Also skins on the skis and full enclosed underneath for added float.

[Species8472]

Love your reports and your set up as well... Thank you for posting

Thanks. So have wondered this before - Does Frenchie refer to your ethnicity or is it a reference to the French River area. I love the whole French River from Nip right to the bay.

[fishfood]

Sounds like another great weekend besides it was really cold. Good luck on the next outing.

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk

[huntnmachine]

I think you meant the DEF fluid? I have a 2016 Chevy Diesel - have yet to experience that one. Has gone into limp mode once on me - was also an emissions issue - thermostat for the regen failed.

Barring bad ice i will be good for March closer. Fingers crossed. Was a slush fest on the last 8km this past weekend once i got past the traveled part of the lake. Snow was deep and many pockets/sections with 6 or 8 inches of slush below the 12 to 18 inches of snow. My machines are both pretty good in those conditions as long as the speed is up and you don't stop. Long tracks and studs on both plus super wide on the Skandy. Also skins on the skis and full enclosed underneath for added float.

Yes DEF, fingers to brain aren't on the same page at times...
Had 2 buddies that had that happen to up at Madawaska a few years ago but it was -38 at the time

[Frenchie]

Thanks. So have wondered this before - Does Frenchie refer to your ethnicity or is it a reference to the French River area. I love the whole French River from Nip right to the bay.

Hahaha.. Neither really.. I was born and raised in Quebec... My parents moved to Ontario in 1977... I stayed in P.Q. with my Grandmother for a bit but when that didn't work out I ended up "visiting" my Mom and Dad only to find out that my GM didn't want to have me stay with her any longer so I ended up in Burlington... I played JR hockey in Quebec and when I attended a Junior Hockey team training camp in Ontario in 1978 was asked by a player who had been on the team in previous years.. who are you ?.. where are you from ?.. we've never seen you before.. I said that I was new to Ontario from Quebec and he says " F***ing great.... a Frenchie is gonna be our team mate ....that's your new nickname" ....I made the mistake of saying I didn't like the nickname Frenchie and of course it stuck... I did speak french at the time.. but it has been a long time since I have used it...never intended on staying in Ontario, I always thought I would go back but that year while playing hockey.. I met a girl and that was it... been in Ontario ever since.. love it here .. moved to Muskoka 2 years ago and love it .